Mitch McConnell is the main reason Trump is back

Shortly after Donald Trump won in New Hampshire, Senator John Cornyn announced his support for him. Why does that matter? Because Cornyn is far from a Trumpist. In fact, the square-jawed Republican from Texas negotiated a gun bill alongside Democratic Senator Chris Murphy and then-Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema that Trump vehemently opposed. Cornyn’s support today shows that all Republicans — from the furthest right to the most moderate — are now falling into line behind the former president.

In fact, Trump continues to have Republican leaders get behind him save for one major voice: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Trump and McConnell’s relationship is well-documented: the two worked hand-in-glove to confirm a slew of judges, including the three Supreme Court justices who killed Roe v Wade; while they failed to repeal Obamacare, they collaborated to pass massive tax cuts.

Their relationship irrevocably broke after the January 6 insurrection. Elaine Chao, McConnell’s wife, resigned from the Trump administration as Secretary of Transportation after rioters violently attempted to breach her husband’s office.

But as much as the two many not like each other — Trump has taken to calling McConnell “Old Crow” — and as much as the two may not want to admit it, McConnell’s decision not to convict Trump likely facilitated Trump’s return to the top of the Republican Party.

That might surprise some, given that McConnell does not appear to enjoy talking about the former president. He’s not as servile to Trump as former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, who visited the president at Mar-a-Lago during his impeachment trial. Nor, unlike Speaker Mike Johnson, did he lead legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election results,